A loyal steadfast accompaniment to our meals is papad. Be it dal-rice, rasam-rice, chapati and veggies, papads not only complements the main course with its crunch factor but also elevates the meal. It enhances the deliciousness of every food. What makes them work even more is that they are healthy and can be stored all year long.
They need not be fried in oil which ensures an oil-less healthy food. Since they are made at home, they are authentic and fresh.
While papads seem easy to make, they are actually not. Making papads is a little tricky and application of some hacks will help your papads turn out perfect.
Some important points to remember
- It is important to make thin papads. For that make the dough a little more rigid and work it well. It will become more pliant the more you stretch and knead it. Papads can be rolled out thinly once the dough is supple.
- If you don’t have dal flour at home, it can be made at home. After cleaning the unpeeled urad dal with a damp cloth, quickly dry it with a fan. Cook it softly in a skillet, finely grind it in a mixer and filter it. The dal flour is ready.
- The papads are likely to get infected with fungus if they haven’t been dried properly. The papads need to dry for 15 minutes on each side. The papads must then be dried in the sun for 15-20 minutes on both sides on the following day.
- If papads are exploding or the dough is getting dispersed while rolling papads, it means the dough you kneaded is excessively stiff and is not correctly bound. The dough should be slightly soft and slightly hard, but not very hard.
The papads are left to dry in the sun | Picture credits : Instagram - @santhinigovindam
- White lentils flour (urad dal flour) - 1.5 cup
- Salt - 1.5 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- Crushed black pepper - 1.5 tsp
- Papad khar (alkaline salt)- 1 tbsp
- Warm water - 3/4 cup
Method
- Take 1.5 cup urad (white lentils) flour and sieve it. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed pepper 1.5 tsp and 1.5 tsp salt and mix it well.
- Take 3/4th cup of warm water, put 1.5 tsp water, 1 tbsp papad khar and mix it well. Make dough. Knead into a tight dough.
- Cover and let it rest for 20 mins. Divide into two portions. Pound the dough with the pestle.
- 10-15 minutes of pounding will make it smooth.
- Pull the dough to form gluten. Roll it thin.
- Divide it into 40 equal portions. Cover them for some time.
- Take a ball. Dust it with some flour. Roll as thin as possible. Shape it around. Roll it like a log.
- Make a thin papad.
- Let it dry on a cloth under shade for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn it over.
- Collect and store. Store it in an airtight container.
- Next day, lay it under the sun. Let them dry for 30 minutes. Flip after 15 minutes.
You can store the papad for a year. You can either deep fry them or dry roast them. Fry papads in hot oil that has been heated in a pan. Turn it over from both sides to roast it, then fry the remaining food in the same manner.
You can roast the papad over the gas by turning it over if you do not want to consume greased papad. You can also bake the papad. Drizzle some oil over the papad before roasting it in the microwave. Prior to flipping back, bake for a further 30 seconds.
